Debra Hurford Brown is a UK based award winning portrait photographer living in London.
Her career covers decades behind the lens shooting Icons, culture & the human spirit. Captured with clarity & compassion. Her work is held by collections including The National Portrait Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland.
Q&A with Debra Hurford Brown and Victoria Fallon
Q: What was your journey into photography?
DHB: Coming from a large family, I was often the first to pick up the Polaroid or the 110 film camera during foreign holidays, birthdays and Christmases. The excitement of seeing the results of a years worth of gatherings in a Truprint mail-order envelope drop onto the doormat was the moment I began to understand the idea of a chronological archive. I was always more engaged in visual scenarios than in reading books and when I realised that being a photographer could be a career, it became my study path of choice.
Q: Tell me about your studies in photography?
DHB: After an Art Foundation Course at UCA in Farnham; I applied to Manchester Polytechnic to do a BA Hons in Media Communications specialising in Photography. My first year in Manchester was spent living in shared flats in Salford and Hulme living a typical student lifestyle at that time. The following year I took part in an exchange program with The School of the Art institute of Chicago. My courses were led by photographers Frank Barsotti and Karen Savage.
The City of Chicago at that time was calm and a cool place to hang out. This experience was a turning point for the twenty year old me. I spent my free time exploring and documenting the City, walking along Lake Shore Drive and sampling the beer on Clark Street. The colours in my photographs during this period hopefully reflect the feeling of the heat and the laid back attitude of the Chicagoans.
Many of these images feature on my CHICAGO page. On my return to Manchester for my final year of study I worked behind the bar at the Hacienda to supplement my living expenses. During my free evenings I took my Pentax to document a generation of creative youths - It was a calmer and more innocent time in the period just before the explosion of Acid House and ‘Madchester’. Conversations happened through smoke filled rooms where beer cans and ashtrays filled the tables leaving a trail of evidence before the rise of mobile phones. You can see the results of my Club photography here CLUBLAND.
Q: What experiences did you have before taking off as a freelance photographer?
DHB: After my degree I found a new base in London where I have lived since. I sought photographic experience at professional photo labs; handling film at Joe’s Basement on Wardour street Soho, then spent four years at Holborn Studios, working my way up to studio manager. I assisted a variety of photographers whose approaches were very different. Photographer Nigel Parry, who became a mentor and friend, was the last photographer I worked for before taking off on my own. We had six years of fun and travel for The Sunday Times Magazine during Parry’s era of iconic portraits with the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Pedro Almodóvar. Those years taught me how to read people, to work without bravado, and to trust in quiet observation. These are lessons which continue to shape how I work today.
Q: How do you define your work?
DHB: My intentions are simply to create an arresting image that will stop the viewers attention while flicking through pages of a magazine or scrolling on their phones. I aim to capture the truest version of a person which has been challenging at times as I may only get 20 minutes in a hotel room with a subject. I have to do the research and watch films, read books and newspaper articles to gain a deeper insight of a person. Connection, compassion and intimacy in my image making are the markers of my most successful portraits.
Q: What inspires you?
DHB: So many things... the commission to start with can spark a chain reaction of thoughts but then the practicality of the situation often curbs what can be done. I am inspired by many photographers who use light in a way that makes their subjects more interesting rather than beautiful. The available light can make me pick up my camera for my personal projects. These are not situations which can be controlled but the synchronisation of available light, subject and my energy often results in my best work.
Q: What have been your biggest challenges?
DHB: I am reflecting back to the time when simultaneously my father died and my career was taking off. I was landing some major commissions with prestigious publications photographing the likes of Ray Liotta and a young Gordon Ramsay. My first child was born shortly after my fathers death and while navigating the grief I felt these life changing events really shaped the way I viewed people, emotions and situations. At the time, it felt untenable but photography had been in my blood for as long as I had picked up a camera and in all honesty I had few other skills to fall back on.
Q: What has been your most memorable shoot?
DHB: There have been so many over my long career but the best ones are always the ones where it’s just me, my assistant and the subject talking freely - a rarity these days. I had an unforgettable session with Larry Hagman (JR Ewing in the TV series Dallas). Hagman was recovering from a liver transplant which I hadn’t been aware of yet he was full of mischief and life. We met in his hotel room by Green Park where the room was adorned with his stetsons. While his PR sat outside; Larry, my assistant and I spent time trying on his different stetsons, laughing and talking before taking the shots. It was pure joy. You can seen one of the resulting images here on my portrait page link
Q: What projects are you currently working on?
DHB: I’m focusing on personal projects that I suspect will continue until my eyes give up! Recently, my portrait of my local window cleaner was accepted by the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2025. That has inspired me to continue on with documenting the amazing characters in my neighbourhood—people with interesting backstories that translate into compelling images.
Q: What equipment do you use?
DHB: Hopefully very little although I doubt my assistants would agree! I pack my car full of “just in case” gear but my standard is my trusty Canon, plus three lenses, two Elinchrom heads for when the available light doesn’t show and a silver reflector. I prefer to shoot freehand so no tripod and no tethering if I can get away with it. The first shots are always mine alone to see as I can feel where I’m heading just by the first few frames. I’ve packed away my treasured Hasselblad as having experimented with going back to film I truly believe my film days of 1997 to 2007 are well documented and are the best that they will ever be…and frankly, most clients can’t afford the film costs anymore!
Q: Any advice you can give to the younger generation of budding photographers?
DHB: I’m always happy to help budding photographers, they can reach out to me via email here.
Exhibitions Awards and Recognition
2010
PENDULUM- Debra’s first limited edition self-published hardback book came out
2011
The National Portrait Gallery - portraits of Lee Evans and Ronnie Corbett - Part of 'Eighteen by Twelve' exhibition in room 41a at The National Portrait Gallery
2011-2012
The National Portrait Gallery - portrait of Dame Joanna Lumley - Part of 'The Actress Now' exhibition
2017
Solo image of Gene Wilder at ‘Camera Press at 70 - A Lifetime in Pictures’ at the Art Bermondsey Project Space
2024
National Gallery of Scotland - Solo Image of Eduardo Paolozzi at the NGS displayed in Modern Two - Paolozzi Gallery celebrating Paolozzi's centenary
2024
Solo image of David Sassoon - British fashion designer at The Museum of London ‘Fashion City’ Exhibition
2024
Winner of Portrait of Humanity 2024 - part of BJP exhibition held at Four Corners Gallery with her portrait of her son
2025
Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at The National Portrait Gallery with her image of ‘Gary The Window Cleaner’
Exhibitions Awards and Recognition
2010
PENDULUM- Debra’s first limited edition self-published hardback book came out
2011
The National Portrait Gallery - portraits of Lee Evans and Ronnie Corbett - Part of 'Eighteen by Twelve' exhibition in room 41a at The National Portrait Gallery
2011-2012
The National Portrait Gallery - portrait of Dame Joanna Lumley - Part of 'The Actress Now' exhibition
2017
Solo image of Gene Wilder at ‘Camera Press at 70 - A Lifetime in Pictures’ at the Art Bermondsey Project Space
2024
National Gallery of Scotland - Solo Image of Eduardo Paolozzi at the NGS displayed in Modern Two - Paolozzi Gallery celebrating Paolozzi's centenary
2024
Solo image of David Sassoon - British fashion designer at The Museum of London ‘Fashion City’ Exhibition
2024
Winner of Portrait of Humanity 2024 - part of BJP exhibition held at Four Corners Gallery with her portrait of her son
2025
Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at The National Portrait Gallery with her image of ‘Gary The Window Cleaner’
Clients include
Harpers Bazaar
GQ
Esquire
The Sunday Times Magazine
Der Spiegel
ES Magazine
The Independent Magazine
The Observer Magazine
FT-How to Spend It
Spectrum Magazine
The Scotsman Magazine
The Herald
The New Statesman
Chelsea Football Club
Virgin Atlantic
Hodder & Stoughton
Hachette Books
Walker Books
Barclaycard
Flybe
Plantronics
Fujitsu
Linde
WPSChallenger
Heritage Lottery Fund
YOU Magazine
IDL Architects
Nenmar Architects
Jack Davison Bespoke
AWLING
Kirk Original
Barkers
Crombie
Benson & Clegg
Budd London
ACNE STUDIOS
Edward Sexton
Bob Browns
